SET (Secure Electronic Transaction)

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a digital payment system that was developed to conduct online transactions securely and confidentially. The main objective of SET is to ensure the security of sensitive information for both the consumer and the merchant, especially in online credit card transactions.

SET was developed in 1996 by major companies like Visa and MasterCard. Its primary goal was to secure the use of credit cards in e-commerce and reduce fraud. SET is a protocol that ensures confidentiality, verification, and data integrity during financial transactions over the internet.

SET operates through three main components: the Cardholder, the Merchant, and the Payment Gateway. The process involves four main stages: Customer Authentication, Secure Ordering, Payment Process, and Confirmation. A key feature is that the merchant never sees the customer's credit card information; it is sent directly to the payment gateway.

Digital Certificates, Encryption, Public and Private Key Cryptography, and Non-repudiation.

Advantages: Enhanced security and privacy, reliability, reduction in fraud, and data integrity.

Disadvantages: Cost and complexity for merchants to implement, user complexity, and decreased demand due to simpler protocols like SSL/TLS.